What Is The Grave Of Saint Oran?

This short stopmotion animation is a twisted philosophical tale of two saints, a murder, and the dark history behind the chapel on the island of Iona. Narrated by master storyteller Neil Gaiman, it is based on his poem 'In Relig Odhrain', and will be brought to life with beautifully illustrated paper cutouts meticulously hand animated frame by frame. We believe in the tactile magic that happens when real light hits actual paper, so the whole film will be shot in camera with minimal digital interference.

We ran a successful kickstarter campaign and with the generous support of our backers, raised over $70,000. With these funds we have been able to set up our studio and the team is currently in full production. Keep an eye on our Production Diary below for updates!

"He will touch you, he will taste you, he will leave his words inside you - god is not what you imagine, nor is hell, and nor is heaven."

Updates from the Studio

Gonna be a quick update this time! It’s been sweltering in the studio this week, New York summer is in full swing. We’re still hammering away on lovely atmospheric shots of the chapel, in various states of construction and ruination.

As mentioned in the last post, I’m starting a regular studio report, giving a quick run down at what we’ve been up to that week. Lately, we’ve been busy working on a handful of shots that show our monks labouring away at building the chapel that is so central to this story.

Production has been in full swing for a few months now! We’re in the studio every day, busy working away, getting the shots locked down one by one. It’s a whirlwind of activity, art, printing, cutting, lighting, swearing, problem solving, and animating, as we coax this film into existence frame by precious frame.

The Grave Of Saint Oran is a short stopmotion animation based on the poem ‘In Relig Odhrain’ by Neil Gaiman. The characters & world will be designed by illustrator Ellen Barkin Söderholm, then these designs will be turned into paper cutout puppets & sets, ready to be animated frame by frame.

It is a strange story, full of brooding atmosphere and metaphysical horror, and we intend to build on that mood…

The poem ‘In Relig Odhrain’ was published in a recent collection of Neil Gaiman’s short stories called ‘Trigger Warning’. It tells the tale of two saints who land on the island of Iona, and attempt to build a chapel there.

But things don’t go smoothly and the ritual murder of one saint by the other begins a chain of events that brings into question everything they believe…